Earth’s Wish

formed from fragments of gas and dust
a planet called Earth now home to us
this phenomenal, mysterious place we grow
in harmony, time runs fast and slow
fluid running waters and billowing green plants
dimensions of skill and art created by man
time escapes like mans reflection
tech and innovation cuts through the worlds ejection

beneficial to man and a threat to the land
this planet has our lives in its big green hands
yet some still don't take much initiative
striving to strip more plants of its colorful riches
the Earth is left to do mans dirty dishes
in its own cry for recovery the Earth only wishes
for nothing more than a chance in existence

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”